Pardon my entering your discussion, but this is a huge leap - to say that Mary draws people to her son. It is a leap apart from scripture - icon or no. And it is emblamatic of the troubles Catholics have with theology and why a group like Bethany has a doctrinal statement that they know you don't agree with - despite using similar words.
You share the foundation of your complaint with the Catholics. That grace from God is reqired for the draw. The prayer to Mary, asks for God's grace. Whould God deny the request from both, the prayee and His own mom? What is a prayer thread for?
>>Pardon my entering your discussion, but this is a huge leap<<
Thank you so much for this show of the class you lack. Perhaps a less harsh way of stating that you disagree would be in order.
I have two daughters. Both are darling and sweet. Any mother will pull attention to her children. Why would the mother of Jesus Christ do any less?
Sometimes one does not need scripture to state the obvious.
Mary was the Tabernacle of God for 9 months ... do we agree on this? Mary was the first to gaze on the Son of God ... are we still in agreement? Mary suckled the Son of God at her breast. Where is any of this in Scripture? The evangelists did not write down each and every second of the life of Jesus from the time of His birth until His death and resurrection, did they? Each one took a different approach to 'recording' some of these events and even then, didn't fully comprehend their role until years after Christ had resurrected.
Like freeper 'RaceBannon', you have just justified the postion of a Magisterium and Oral Tradition. The Bible denies that it is sufficient as the complete rule of faith. Paul says that much Christian teaching is to be found in the tradition which is handed down by word of mouth (2 Tim. 2:2). He instructs us to "stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (2 Thess. 2:15).
This oral teaching was accepted by Christians, just as they accepted the written teaching that came to them later. Jesus told his disciples: "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me" (Luke 10:16). The Church, in the persons of the apostles, was given the authority to teach by Christ; the Church would be his representative. He commissioned them, saying, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19).
And how was this to be done? By preaching, by oral instruction: "So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ" (Rom. 10:17). The Church would always be the living teacher. It is a mistake to limit "Christ’s word" to the written word only or to suggest that all his teachings were reduced to writing. The Bible nowhere supports either notion.